Concrete in Australia Vol 36 No 4 25
Arabia that is airconditioned using a Termodeck installation. e
cooling was totally switched off between 1:00pm and 5:00pm.
During the test the temperatures in all rooms in the office except
one remained at under 25°C, while the outside temperature at
midday was around 44°C.
e occupants were not informed of the system switch off, but
reported no change in their working environment. e conclusion
of this test together with detailed simulations is that most buildings
equipped with Termodeck should be able to reduce the power
demand during peak hours by 70-90% compared to conventional
airconditioning systems.
e installed cooling capacities (including standby) for some
other Termodeck projects in the Middle East have been compared
with the design capacities that would have been required from
conventional airconditioning systems.
e capacities, and therefore electrical power, were found to
be 50-60% lower for the Termodeck system. Experience from
Termodeck projects in the Middle East demonstrates that the
energy consumption is reduced by 30-50% compared to equally
sized conventional buildings.
is difference is due to the fact that the chillers are running
at nights when the ambient temperature is lower; free cooling is
achieved by using the outdoor air without any need for compressors
during periods when nights are cold. In addition, during very cold
periods Termodeck uses the surplus heat stored in the slab during
daytime to heat the building at night.
During peak hours, the electrical power used by a Termodeck
installation can be up to 70-90% less than with conventional
systems. is will substantially reduce the investments in new
powerstations needed to operate purely during peak hours.
e ASA Consulting report has estimated that with an extensive
use of systems like Termodeck until 2020, the capital costs of
powerstations in Saudi Arabia alone could be reduced by up to
US$8 billion. e cumulative savings in CO2 emissions would be
18 million tonnes.
Termodeck systems do have high requirements on the building
envelope, which can create an additional cost. However, one benefit
to the overall building costs is that no false ceilings are required,
which reduces the overall building height and one extra floor can
be gained for every five to seven floors.
e system is not limited to the servicing of office spaces. In
2004 an installation was completed in the Lulu Hypermarket, in
Muscat, Oman. Two floors are supplied by the system covering a
total area of 20,000m2.
After more than one complete year of operation, the client has
confirmed that it has saved both in capital investments and day
to day operations.
Bjorn Ostbye, project development manager for the Emke Group
said: "We have saved approximately $640 000 (AED2.35 million)
on investments. e operational costs are around $150,000 (AED
560,000) lower on an annual basis due to 30% less electricity
charges and reduced maintenance."
Environmentally friendly buildings have always been considered
uneconomical when compared with traditional solutions or offering
unacceptable levels of compromise in occupant comfort or use.
A report by Gardner & eobald in conjunction with Mott
Macdonald in the UK shows that for the first time, truly cost-
effective as well as environmentally efficient buildings can be
designed and built.
The report compared the Termodeck system with natural
ventilation and comfort cooling, and demonstrated that the system
was cheaper to build than a comfort cooled building and on a
net present value model basis after 25 years, Termodeck was the
cheapest of the three options.
A school in Sheffield was used as a model for the research. is
building was designed as a PFI project, and was therefore ideal for
comparison of whole life cycle costs.
is report reinforced the earlier New Practice Report 106 by
the DETR which looked at the capital costs of the award winning
Elizabeth Fry building which confirmed that it had similar cost to
a naturally ventilated building but significantly cheaper than an
airconditioned building.
Termodeck has a proven track record and offers significant capital
cost and operational savings for new buildings. Termodeck will
carry out detailed thermal modelling of proposed new buildings
and develop this information with the client's consultants
and design team at the early stages of project conception. On
completion of the project, Termodeck provide monitoring for a
period of up to two years to ensure that the system achieves its
full potential.
Project
Location
Area
Installed Cooling Load
Savings
Conventional VHCS
VHCS vs
Conventional
(m2)
(tonnes)
(tonnes)
(%)
Lotus Centre
Jeddah 4400
180
76
58%
Gulf Centre
Jeddah 30,700
2750
1250
55%
Ibrahim Aba Al-Khail Villa
Riyadh 1250
40
15
63%
Abdulrahman Al-Ohaly Villa
Riyadh 1225
60
24
60%
Gulf Agency Company
Dubai
1450
90
40
56%
Lulu Hypermarket
Muscat
20,000
1360
680
50%
Table 1. Estimated savings that can be achieved using hollowcore concrete plank systems.
SOURCE: ASA CONSULTING